Theon, Past, Present, Future, a BlackandBlue story
by Orion Lyonesse
Summary: When his son, Theon Restal, demands his presence, Vila has a lot of explaining to do. Avon/Tarrant, Vila/Dayna.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Vila watched as the young man bustled about the room, preparing drinks for them both and laying out a tray of finger food. It had been a long while since they'd actually been in the same room together. It seemed like years since Theon had left home. After that, he'd mostly seen his son on one screen or another. There'd been letters, of course, sometimes arriving out of order or mentioning things that had been explained in letters that hadn't gotten through at all.

War played hell with the postal system, as it did with pretty much all systems. Now that things were settling down, it was good to able to catch up with his son, though why this particular day, Vila wasn't sure. When the invitation came, it had felt more like an order than a request, which was seriously unlike his usually open son.

He looks so like his father, Vila thought. Same riotous hair, broad shoulders, powerful build. Quick mind. Charismatic personality.

Or perhaps like Tarrant, in a way. Maybe Blake looked like Tarrant when he was young. That thought brought a chuckle from Vila and an inquiring look from Theon, which Vila waved away.

Taking a sip of his drink as Theon sat down across from him,  
Vila asked with mock sternness, "Are you going to tell me why you called me here, young man? Not that I don't love seeing you."

Theon didn't answer at once. Instead he offered Vila a plate of cookies. When he shook his head, Theon grabbed an oatmeal cookie before setting the plate down. It was one of his favorites from childhood, Vila noted, though realistically, any cookie had been Theon's favorite, if it was in reach.

"I want you to tell me about my father. My real father. Please?"

The young man looked up into Vila's shocked and distressed face and went on kindly, "I've known for some time that you weren't my real parents. It wasn't too hard to figure out. I don't look anything like you or mother, and I have a vague recollection of another life and other people that you never talk about." He paused, eyes going distant as he pulled up memories of long ago. "There was a golden woman, a dark quiet man, and a tall, curly-haired man. And…I dream sometimes about another man, older and bigger, but with the same hair, and there's a woman, too. I can hear her voice, but I can't ever see her." His warm brown eyes focused on Vila's face, searching for answers, and saw panic skitter across it.

Vila lowered his eyes and fidgeted with his drink, the former thief frantically seeking the words to answer his son's questions. Finally, he looked up and began what he hoped would be enough to satisfy the young man.

His face and voice were calm, now that the time had finally come. He'd feared this day would arrive, just not this soon. But then, what did he have to fear? Wasn't the past dead and gone? Shouldn't his son know about his own past, his own lineage? Vila hadn't spoken of that past since his wife had died. Indeed, no one else knew Theon's story. No one to be hurt. No one else was left.

No one but Vila Restal.

"The dark man's name was Kerr Avon, and the tall curly-haired young one was Del Tarrant. They…were friends of your real father and…lovers. The golden woman was Soolin. In your dreams, you're seeing your real father and mother, Roj Blake and Jenna Stannis." His voice took on a sorrowful tone that hurt Theon to hear. "They're all dead now.

Theon shook his head. "I'm more confused now than ever. Please, father, tell me the all truth. I have to know, to find out who I am. Please. It's important to me right now."

"I understand," Vila said, sighing and sitting back on the sofa. In a quiet voice, he began to tell Theon the story of Blake's Seven, from the holding cell on Earth to the final confrontation on Gauda Prime.

"…and that last year, leading up to their final meeting, was full of desperate and increasingly dangerous missions. Avon became manic-depressive. He…even tried to kill me once.

"And all that time, Tarrant watched Avon.

"At first, I think Tarrant fought Avon just because they were both Alphas, then because it was a habit with them. But after awhile, Tarrant began to back off, to try to pull with Avon instead against him. He came to care for Avon, but he couldn't get inside that brittle shell Avon pulled around himself. So, like the rest of us, Tarrant could only watch as Avon dissolved and fell into some private hell.

Vila paused, rubbing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He shifted his shoulders, like that would ease the tension Vila felt building up inside him, as his mind's eye reviewed the past, with the knowledge of what was coming.

Theon watched his father and felt sympathy for him. Whatever has about to be revealed, he knew it would be bad. He wished he could spare his father this. For a man of sixty-odd years, Vila Restal was still in good health, though his thin graying hair had turned completely white since Theon's mother had died. Her death had taken a lot out of the man.

"Soolin and…Dayna were so very young then. They should have been starting families, not facing guns and laying bombs." His frustration mounted visibly, as he shoved a hand through his sparse hair. "The rebellion took their youth, and made them hard before their time!

"When Avon finally found Blake, misunderstanding and betrayal and madness mounted until one of them had to die. We all watched in horror as Avon shot Blake three times. Blake…fell and Avon…snapped, I think. The last I saw, Avon was just standing, frozen.

"Then all hell broke loose as Federation troopers swarmed in and surrounded us. We were all stunned unconscious. I guess they were supposed to capture us, I don't know now. We woke up to find Blake's people mopping up the base and preparing to abandon it.

"Well, the girls, Tarrant, and I woke up. Avon must have gotten more than his share of the stuns, because he didn't come to until quite some time after we did. And he…he wouldn't talk or…or do anything. Just stared.

"The senior staff member of Blake's rebels brought you to me then, as we were preparing to leave." He looked up at the younger man who was listening in fascination to his story. Vila smiled briefly, warmed by the remembered first sight of that child who became his son and this wonderful, proud, fascinating man. "You couldn't have been more than a year old then, and were bawling your head off."

"'You have to leave us,' she said. 'You're too dangerous for us to be around. But you should take the baby with you.' 'Baby? With us? Why?' I asked her. 'Because he's Blake and Jenna Stannis' son and he's not safe with us anymore.'"

"So we left, the five of us and you. Tarrant was the most injured of us and couldn't walk, so we had to carry him on a stretcher. The girls and I took turns carrying the stretcher and you.

"That left Avon. There wasn't any way to insure he'd keep up with us and not go wandering off, so Tarrant held onto his hand the whole time, urging him to keep up, pulling him back when he tried to stray. Always holding onto Avon. Always." Vila seemed to be making some internal connections, as though telling the story again, after so long, had given him a new perspective. "I think that was the start of their relationship. Maybe it was the thread that Avon followed back to sanity." He breathed a sigh and was silent for a moment before continuing.

"Anyway, when we finally reached the spaceport, the others hid out while I explored the city and…got us some money to live on."

At that the other interrupted, cocking his head and frowning. "How did you get money?"

Vila chuckled. "Remember all those magic tricks I entertained you with?" He waited while the big man's mind roved back through the years. Then he snapped his fingers, a bright smile lighting up his warm brown eyes and bringing a happy, uninhibited smile to his lips.

"I remember! You made things appear and disappear! Like mother's favorite bracelet and…someone's wallet. I can't remember who."

"Those are part of what I did all those years ago. I was a thief, and one of the best, I might add. I picked pockets and sold what I could steal. We moved into a cheap apartment, got an illegal doctor for Tarrant, and just…existed for a time."

By now, Theon was well enmeshed in Vila's story and had questions of his own. "Did Avon ever recover from his trauma, father?"

Vila shook his head sadly. "Not really. I think…something broke when he killed Blake. The man had been Avon's pole star for so long that without him there was no direction to his life. Oh, he came out of his silence gradually, and started taking a hand at earning our living in the city, but he never resumed leadership of our group.

"And his mind…" Vila raised his head, a sad smile on his face. "Avon had one of the sharpest minds I'd ever run across. There was nothing he didn't know about computers and machines of every kind. He was a genius. Just a genius! Then…it was like a lighting unit that had lost part of its element. Still functioning, but diminished and darker. That was Avon's mind then." Vila paused, then said, "I missed him, Theon. Missed his brilliance. Missed his leadership. Missed his…friendship. It was like he died on Gauda Prime but the message hadn't reached his body yet." He shook his head, trying to dispel the gloom that had overtaken him.

"Anyway, by default, I guess, I was the leader. I can tell you it wasn't very long before I began to realize why Avon had so hated the role, after Blake disappeared." He gave a quick smile and tilted his head at Theon. He barked a short, sharp laugh. "Me…the one who'd always ducked responsibility, suddenly in charge of a cripple, two girls, a psychotic and a baby! The irony of it all." Vila drew in a long slow breath and sighed it out again. "A shame I had no one to share it with." His face went pensive as he considered where to go next with his story. Then he brightened and began again.

"You want to know what Blake was like, don't you?" he asked.

Theon's smile was answer enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Vila continued, finally getting to the center around which he and the others orbited.

"Roj Blake was quite famous on Earth, you know, as a rebel. He was caught, tried, convicted and mindwiped twice before I met him in that holding cell. Quite a leader, was your father. People gravitated to him like iron to a magnet! Even Kerr Avon felt the pull, though he resisted it for a long time.

"We all reacted to him differently, the original crew, that is. Gan was his first follower, on the London. Gan was a giant and a murderer, so they said, and they'd put a limiter in his brain to keep him from killing again. We became good friends on the Liberator, and later I found out he'd killed the man who'd already killed his wife and child. It hardly seemed fair, but then, what about the Federation was ever fair? We never held it against him, anyway. I think he followed Blake because Blake was the only person Gan's size around and he was smarter. Gan needed a protector, with that limiter, but he protected us, too, sometimes. That was what got him killed, early in the second year.

"Cally, now, followed Blake because she believed in his cause." He smiled fondly at his memories. "She was a fierce fighter, was our Cally. She was an Auron and telepathic." His face sobered as he continued, "I still miss her. Avon…felt her loss the most, I think. He loved her, in his own way. After she died and believing Blake dead, Avon started to go to pieces. I was the only original crewmember left by then, so I guess I was the only one who could see him breaking down. The others…" Vila laughed, but there was no humor in it. "They thought he was normally homicidal and mean-spirited, but I remembered him from before." Vila fell silent, alone in his head with his ghosts for several moments before shaking his snowy head and looking up into Theon's concerned eyes.

"Would you like some water or another drink, perhaps?" Theon offered.

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just…I haven't spoken of those times in many years and now…the…pain of losing them seems…fresher, somehow."

He continued, "Jenna Stannis was your mother. That's your real name, by the way, Theon Roj Stannis. She was a smuggler and a pirate and the best damned pilot I ever saw. Among her people, the child took the mother's name, not like on Earth. A real beauty, was Jenna. Cally was pretty enough, but Jenna was simply beautiful. Blond, curved in all the right places. Spirited and fiery, too. She followed Blake, at the start, for money and adventure, but very soon she fell in love with him. I don't think she cared for his cause, just for the man. When they gave you to us, they told us she'd died several months previously, running a blockade with supplies the rebels badly needed." He flashed the young man a smile. "No matter how hard I tried, I never could imagine Jenna pregnant with you! She was such a blazing free spirit that I doubt it slowed her down one bit!

"Kerr Avon. He said once Blake didn't so much lead him as he chose to follow Blake. I think he was deluding himself there. Avon was a top embezzler. He almost brought the Federation Banking System to its knees, but he was betrayed by a woman he loved. Maybe that's why he was never attracted to Cally or Dayna or Soolin, I don't know. I'm just thankful he connected with Tarrant, loved Tarrant. Thankful that they had each other till the end. Avon deserved some happiness, after all the hell he'd gone through."

Theon interrupted then. "You haven't told me why you followed Blake, father."

Vila ducked his head at that. "I was afraid you'd spot that. I'm really not sure myself why. I told Avon once that I stayed because I had nowhere else to go. It's true we were all too famous or…infamous to be allowed to lead anonymous lives after joining up with Blake.

"Quite simply, the man fascinated me. He was so strong and self-assured. He never doubted his mission, his cause, though once he did question his methods. That was after Gan died. As always, Blake took all the burdens of the universe onto those broad shoulders of his.

"Then again, maybe it was like a ride in an amusement park to me. Once I got aboard, I had to ride it out until it stopped. I couldn't leave the others until I found out how it all finished." His voice took on a deadened quality. "Well, I found out where it ended. On Gauda Prime."

In an effort to brighten Vila's mood a bit, Theon asked, "Where did my mother, Soolin, and Tarrant come from? They weren't part of the original crew, where they?"

"Oh, no. They came to us later. Dayna rescued Avon after Star One was destroyed by Travis and the Andromedans. That's when Blake and Jenna disappeared, too. Dayna was a weapons expert, the daughter of Hal Mellanby, a noted scientist who fled the Federation to hide on Sarran." Vila smiled fondly at Theon as he continued, "You never suspected she was a fierce freedom fighter, your mother, did you?"

That picture brought a chuckle from Theon. "Fierce, yes, but a freedom fighter? No, I didn't. I suspect she would have approved of my lifestyle, though, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes, son. She'd definitely approve of your life, for a fact," he replied, nodding.

"What of Tarrant and Soolin?"

"Soolin joined us after Cally died. I'm not sure why she stayed with us that first year. Maybe it was as simple as she didn't have anyplace else to go. Or maybe she felt safer with us than on her own. She never said, that I remember." He cast a fond smile at his son.

"After Gauda Prime, she stayed because she loved you. Both of them were exceptional with weapons, quick, intelligent. Soolin and Dayna both became your mothers and your special guardians. I had to look after all of us, not just you. I couldn't give you the care and nurturing you deserved, but they could and did." Theon heard and felt the sorrow of the man as he said, "I miss them both, son, more and more as the years pass."

He went silent so long the younger man prodded finally, "What happened to Soolin? I have only the vaguest memories of her."

Vila sighed. "She died covering our escape from Darton IV. Tarrant was worse by then. You must have been six or seven. We'd learned not to live together in one group by then. Three men, two lovely women, and one baby were just too easy to find. So Avon and Tarrant lived apart from us, while Dayna and Soolin posed as my wives." He flashed Theon a broad grin. "I rather liked that part. Dayna and I were married legally about that time. Anyway, after that, we changed our names and appearances for awhile. Later, when we felt we were safe, we gave that up. It was quite a relief, I can tell you."

"That explains the frequent moves I remember. I've forgotten any fighting, if I ever witnessed any," Theon said.

Vila nodded sadly. "That's right. And usually we got away ahead of her people. Just that once, though, we cut it too close, and Soolin paid the price. We got very cautious after that."

"Her?"

"Oh, you probably never heard of her. Her name was Avalon and she was second only to your real father in importance to the rebellion back then. It was her that we ran from and kept you from." Vila's eyes took on a fierceness that Theon didn't think he'd ever seen there. "If that woman had ever gotten her hands on you, she'd have made you a figurehead to keep the rebellion going. And it would only have been a matter of time before someone killed you, too. That's why we ran so long. Then, after she died herself, well, we settled down and made a stable life for you, the one you remember."

"And Tarrant? Where does he come into all this?" Theon asked.

"Ah, Tarrant. He told us he was a Federation deserter, when we got back to the Liberator after the Andromedan War and found him and a group of Federation troopers already aboard, in possession of our ship! They died. He stayed. Turned out he was almost as good a pilot as your mother was. He got us out of several scrapes that way. With age and experience, maybe he would have been better than she was. I don't know. He was good with strategies, too, though Avon rarely took his advice.

"But Gauda Prime ended all that.

"First Tarrant was injured bringing the Scorpio in for a crash landing. Then he was shot, then stunned, and dragged halfway across the planet before he could get good medical attention. He…never fully recovered the use of his legs, though not for want of trying. Oh, no! He was so determined and persistent that he almost made us believe he'd succeed someday. Instead, after he and Avon went off to live together, he just got steadily worse. Medicine and therapy kept his condition stable for awhile, but sometimes the pain got the better of him. When it did, he'd send Avon away, so he wouldn't see him hurting. That only made Avon hurt worse, I think. They loved each other so, but I've often thought since then that they were both doomed from the start." Vila hitched a foot up under him, leaning toward Theon, his eyes bright. Theon couldn't decide if it was tears glimmering there or something even sadder. "I mean, Avon never had a firm grasp on sanity after Blake died and Tarrant…his youth and his body were taken from him before he ever got to realize any of those golden dreams he had."

When Vila paused, Theon leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on his father's arm, asking softly, "What happened to them, father?"

Sorrow plainly written on his face, Vila told him. "Shortly after we settled down, after Avalon died, Tarrant's condition began to go downhill fast. Even the best doctors we could afford couldn't help him recover or even stabilize his condition. Avon stayed by his side every minute. Dayna and I tried to be there for both of them, but I suspect they didn't know whether we were around or gone. Toward the end, the staff couldn't pry Avon away from Tarrant's bedside for anything.

"When…the end came, Avon was holding Tarrant's hand and crying silently. Dayna was in my arms and we were both crying too. When he was sure that Tarrant was gone, Avon stood up, his back ramrod straight, his face turned to stone and his eyes black and bleak. He said not a word to any of us. I…I'm not even sure he knew anyone was there. He just turned and left the room. We never saw him again. We searched everywhere we could think of, but there was never any sign of him. He just vanished." After a few moments, the tension that had been holding Vila in its grip flowed away, leaving his shoulders slumped, his face drained. He spoke next in a meditative voice, like he was trying to put the sadness behind him. His lips even quirked up slightly, just for an instant.

"I've thought of Avon and Blake often over the years, as you grew up and began to prove to me, at least, whose son you really were. You have the same charismatic aura Blake did, the same idealism. The difference is, you succeeded where he failed. Without knowing it, you picked up your father's crusade and won it for him."

Vila stood, a quiet smile on his face as he approached the man he'd raised.

Theon rose too. They met halfway. Vila grasped Theon's arms, feeling the strong muscles, the youth, the vitality there.

Looking up slightly into Theon's eyes, Vila said, "I'm proud of you, son. Tomorrow, when you're sworn in as Theon Restal, president of the New Federation, just remember who you are and all of us who have loved you through the years. You have a big job ahead of you, but I know you can do it." Then he pulled his son into a fierce hug, which Theon gladly returned, though gentler, mindful suddenly of how fragile his father seemed.

Then, Vila Restal made his farewells and walked away into history as Theon Restal prepared for the future.

A/N _If you have enjoyed my story, please review_.


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